Tackling Domestic Violence Professor Marianne Hester University of

Tackling Domestic Violence Professor Marianne Hester University of Bristol

VICTIM PERPETRATOR CHILD

VICTIM PERPETRATOR CHILD

Home Office Crime Reduction Programme Aims To identify ‘what works’ to support victims and to tackle domestic violence

Background £ 6. 3 million to fund 34 pilot projects aimed at reducing domestic violence, rape and sexual assault 27 projects on domestic violence: • criminal and civil justice; • protection and prevention; • Black and other ethnic minorities; • health; • multi-service; • education; and • rural work

Meta-evaluation Methodology 518 interviews with project staff and partner agencies; 174 interviews with domestic violence victims/survivors; 22 focus groups; and 2, 935 questionnaires. Quantitative data (gathered mostly through the police) were collected on 80, 350 domestic violence victims/survivors, 35, 349 domestic violence perpetrators, and 5, 687 children living in domestic violence situations.

Three groups – different needs • Children and young people in schools who may or may not have been living with domestic violence • Younger women with children who did not appear to be actively seeking help • Women from an older age group who had been subject to repeat victimisation, and often severe and systematic abuse, and who were actively seeking help

Primary prevention in primary & secondary schools Had an impact when: • student-centred, • interactive, • with visual input such as drama More impact if: • integrated across curriculum • teachers supported

Routine Enquiry Used by health and social care professionals Effective when: • Training for practitioners of at least 2 days • Incorporated into existing work • Good multi-agency links • Use of Duluth wheels • Linked to safety planning Led to: • Increased awareness & disclosure • Increased empowerment of clients and staff

Supporting women Needs range of support: • Advocacy support in widest sense • Advocates for BME women • Outreach • Legal advocacy and advice • Panic alarms & home security • Individual and/or group work Has to be geared to individual need and situation, and will change over time. Can reduce repeat victimisation

Supporting women e. g. Northampton Sunflower Centre ‘Spiralling cocoon care’

Support - to report to police: Most effective when: • Project workers in police station, or • Police as part of one-stop-shop. Leads to: increase in reporting (recording) Increase in arrests

Support - to report to police: Bradford and Camden prioritised legal support. Cheshire & Suffolk did not.

Support – through the court process Involves: • Advocacy with intensive legal & other support • Links with good solicitors • Legal worker • Links with police & CPS • Training for magistrates Leads to: • Better use of civil remedies • Reduced attrition in criminal justice process (less ‘drop-out’ of cases) • More custodial sentences

Support – through the court process Well I took my ex-partner to Court and… If I had to go and see anybody they came with me. And you know when you speak to solicitors and stuff they don’t always speak in jargon…they explained everything in English to me…so I fully understood what was happening. And they gave me several ways of advice, different paths I could go on. And I made my own decisions then of what to do. (Project user, Bradford)

Individual and group work Involved outreach workers and advocates Worked best when: • Outreach was structured & included children • Individual work when woman needed focused support. • Group work to help women ‘move on’.

Three groups – different needs • Children and young people in schools who may or may not have been living with domestic violence – awareness, primary prevention PREVENTION & EARLY INTERVENTION • Younger women with children who did not appear to be actively seeking help – routine enquiry, outreach, advocacy EARLY INTERVENTION • Women from an older age group who had been subject to repeat victimisation, and often severe and systematic abuse, and who were actively seeking help – outreach, advocacy, individual and group work MORE FOCUS ON CJS APPROACH